Bates Updates

[anjulibai]

I'm guessing Alyssa is spending time decorating her new place, painting, putting up pictures, etc., along with all the other basic household chores. I could also see her helping out at John's work, doing administrative stuff.

I hope she's spending time just hanging out and enjoying the peace and quiet of having her own home. It's something she seems to have really wanted and needed.

[neuroticcat]

I think some of the weight gain has to do with the age they are entering. I remember a lot of my male friends gaining weight in their mid-late twenties as metabolism slowed down and they had to consider watching their weight for the first time. I also think it does have to do with getting to eat whatever they want for the first time. But it's not like meals were particularly healthy before - lots of sodium and carbs and fat, so maybe it's a lack of activity?

I think if Erin has gained it could be miscarriage related. I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks and had gained about 10 lbs. from the morning sickness before that, and it was really hard to lose it.

[Snarkle]

Some lovely, behind-the-scenes pictures from Alyssa's wedding are on Casey (sister-in-law to Gil) Bates' blog. There are also some nice shots of the 50th anniversary cake and the rehearsal dinner. Interesting how Gil looks like his mom, and his brother like his dad.

[Alye]

I think some of the weight gain has to do with the age they are entering. I remember a lot of my male friends gaining weight in their mid-late twenties as metabolism slowed down and they had to consider watching their weight for the first time. I also think it does have to do with getting to eat whatever they want for the first time. But it's not like meals were particularly healthy before - lots of sodium and carbs and fat, so maybe it's a lack of activity?

I think if Erin has gained it could be miscarriage related. I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks and had gained about 10 lbs. from the morning sickness before that, and it was really hard to lose it.

In my family all girl put on weight in our early 20's (some more so than others) for the same reason. So it's unsurprising that they would be too.

[Alye]

I think some of the weight gain has to do with the age they are entering. I remember a lot of my male friends gaining weight in their mid-late twenties as metabolism slowed down and they had to consider watching their weight for the first time. I also think it does have to do with getting to eat whatever they want for the first time. But it's not like meals were particularly healthy before - lots of sodium and carbs and fat, so maybe it's a lack of activity?

I think if Erin has gained it could be miscarriage related. I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks and had gained about 10 lbs. from the morning sickness before that, and it was really hard to lose it.

In my family all girl put on weight in our early 20's (some more so than others) for the same reason. So it's unsurprising that they would be too.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

On Alyssa's instagram someone commented that they go to church with Erin, so I guess the Paines do not attend Gil's church.

[Coco]

Some lovely, behind-the-scenes pictures from Alyssa's wedding are on Casey (sister-in-law to Gil) Bates' blog. There are also some nice shots of the 50th anniversary cake and the rehearsal dinner. Interesting how Gil looks like his mom, and his brother like his dad.

good find! thank you for the heads up! :D They are such a loving, beautiful family. It really comes across in those photos.

bumpinalongtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/

[Snarkle]

good find! thank you for the heads up! :D They are such a loving, beautiful family. It really comes across in those photos.

bumpinalongtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/

If I ever decided to be a Christian homeschooler, Casey would be my role model. That side of the family also gives me hope that if one of the Bates 19 decided to leave the lifestyle, they'd certainly have family to embrace them.

[pega127]

On the Bates family blog new pics of Gil, Kelly, Carlin and Lawson (who had enough cash to buy his ticket) in San Fran with-----you guessed it Cooper Duaer (sp?)!!! The article states Gil and Kelly are there for a homeschool event. Oh sure. How old is Carlin?

[nausicaa]

good find! thank you for the heads up! :D They are such a loving, beautiful family. It really comes across in those photos.

bumpinalongtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/

I am really surprised at the picture of Michael and her guy at the reception. Is that sort of touching, which is sort of reverse side hugging, allowed during courtship? That appears to be a prolonged stance and his arm is totally pressed against her chest. Get it Michael!

Also, anyone notice in the rehearsal dinner photos that Carlin is sitting next to a very handsome guy about her age? I know she is only 16, but I suspect she is not long for singledom once she comes of age.

Edited because word missing.

[anjulibai]

I didn't getting courting or special friendship vibe from the pictures. Cooper doesn't seem like Carlin's type to me, either.

Carlin is a pretty girl, I'm sure she attracts attention, but 16 is young even by fundie standards.

What I did find amusing was that while Gil, Kelly and Carlin all wore purple on their day out in SF, Lawson wore a yellow shirt. Keep up the individuality, Lawson!

[Alye]

If I ever decided to be a Christian homeschooler, Casey would be my role model. That side of the family also gives me hope that if one of the Bates 19 decided to leave the lifestyle, they'd certainly have family to embrace them.

Do we know how many hours a day the Bates kids get? I know J'chele said their kids get 4 hours which is not enough even if they had a great curriculum.

[Chickenetti]

Do we know how many hours a day the Bates kids get? I know J'chele said their kids get 4 hours which is not enough even if they had a great curriculum.

I don't know about Arkansas homeschool law, but the law in Tennessee says 4 hours a day for 180 days a year. I homeschool my two children and believe me, you can get a lot done in 4 hours. Of course, I only homeschool two, not ten or however many Michelle and Kelly are still homeschooling. One of the advantages of homeschooling (and one of the reasons you can get so much done in 4 hours) is the low teacher-student ratio. That's just my experience.

[freethemall]

I am really surprised at the picture of Michael and her guy at the reception. Is that sort of touching, which is sort of reverse side hugging, allowed during courtship? That appears to be a prolonged stance and his arm is totally pressed against her chest. Get it Michael!

Also, anyone notice in the rehearsal dinner photos that Carlin is sitting next to a very handsome guy about her age? I know she is only 16, but I suspect she is not long for singledom once she comes of age.

Edited because word missing.

In the ABC special, Michael was also walking (awkwardly) arm-in-arm with Brandon - I'm wondering if they decided to forgo hand-holding (which they had done in an earlier post, ice-skating I think) for arm holding as a substitute.

[VGL]

good find! thank you for the heads up! :D They are such a loving, beautiful family. It really comes across in those photos.

bumpinalongtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/

The picture of the grandparents feeding cake to each other is adorable.

[Alye]

I don't know about Arkansas homeschool law, but the law in Tennessee says 4 hours a day for 180 days a year. I homeschool my two children and believe me, you can get a lot done in 4 hours. Of course, I only homeschool two, not ten or however many Michelle and Kelly are still homeschooling. One of the advantages of homeschooling (and one of the reasons you can get so much done in 4 hours) is the low teacher-student ratio. That's just my experience.

Yes, I was thinking with the amount of kids they have. The Bates have 6 kids of primary school age and at least another 4 in secondary school. If they do the same amount as the Duggars, I think that 4 hours is not enough time to give each kid any decent amount of attention. Even if the older kids are all on the computers and aren't needing any help. Casey, I think is doing it right, her 5 kids get the same length of schooling as kids in public school and more one on one time.

I do agree that when you have two kids four hours is a decent amount of time. One kid can be doing an activity while the other gets 'teacher time'. One advantage to home schooling is that you can tailor lessons to how your kids learn best or to a time when they are most likely to be engaged. However with so many kids (of differing ages) it's different. Does anyone have any experience home-schooling such a large group of differing ages?

[Pretzel]

In the California pictures, Kelly (wearing that red jacket-y thing) looks downright....dare I say...sexy?! :pink-shock: :D :lol:

One reason for TLC letting them down is certainly that they're not dorky and awkward enough to keep people interested in them. They pretend being close friends with the Duggars but I have always doubted it. They just appear so awkward around each other, it also looks like they're spending time with each other cause it's convenient. They don't have to explain their lives to each other and the "little ones" have playmates. Yet, the older kids have always seemed like they're not too fond of mingling except for two sets of them, JD and Zach and Jana and Michael; all of them the rather reserved and shy types.

To be honest, why do I watch the Duggars apart from their fundamentalist Christian believes? Because they're so awkward that everytime I watch, I am secretly thankful for my family. Let alone JB and his weird Lego head and the completely staged conversations he has with his wife/kids/strangers. Then comes J'Mullet, sporting the latter as if we were still living in the 80s, talking to and interacting with her kids as if she saw them once every leap year. Her fake baby voice and all the lying she does on camera add to the overall picture. All the half-assed activities, starting from half-assed home-schooling ending with Jill's half-assed midwifery training and Josh's half-assed job in DC. Then courtship. Then the depressed kids, added to the dorky kool-aid drinkers and the narcissists among them, laundry-slave Grandma MARY (YES, she's got a real NAME), and freaky cousin Famy, all that plus secret cult affiliations and there you have your TLC brand.

The Bateses ARE affiliated with the same cult, yet all the detached-ness, the awkwardness, repression of genuine emotion, the obvious fake-ness fall away and there you have a family who's different than the average family, yet one can spot parallels to their own family and that makes the Bateses...

...boring.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Yeah, the Bates family seem more functional and normal, and their affection for eachother isn't staged.

With the Duggars, most people probably watch because of the trainwreck aspect, and wondering which one out of the many who could do with some therapy, will be the first to snap and yell at their neglectful parents on live TV.

[hollyj]

Yeah, the Bates family seem more functional and normal, and their affection for eachother isn't staged.

I completely agree. I genuinely enjoyed watching the Bates show and enjoy reading their blogs.

[NellieBell]

Style Update! Cherin has posted part one of a two part tutorial on how she curls her hair!!!

Now that proclamation is out of the way, I was prepared to snark away but I liked it and thought she did a great job. I was a bit distracted by the pinkness surrounding her but I thought the tutorial was helpful. The background music was cute too and not hymnal. I think Cherin should start her own Fundie styling/makeup blog...lord knows some of them need it.

[memmy]

I likes the tutorial - maybe because that is how I used to do my hair as well. When it was long might I add.

The exact same curlers and the mousse... One thing that caught be off guard a little is when she introduced herself... Erin Pain... I was expecting the normal Erin Bates - yes I understand that she is married and all but it does seem a little "all of a sudden" to me.

I like how he is really supporting her in all she does. He was the one filming and editing the video as well.

I am definitely a fan of theirs

[Coconut Flan]

I thought at the end where the hair was rolled up that Erin looked really good. I think she'd be adorable with a should length bob.

[ViolaSebastian]

It's actually not nearly as labor intensive as I expected it to be--I'm actually shocked and thinking I could actually pull it off, and I'm somewhat inept with hair-styling.

Chad, in my opinion, was a catch of a fundie husband. He always speaks about Erin in such glowing terms and seems so supportive. His editing her hair video is adorable.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I wouldn't blame Carlin is she does marry VERY young. Peace, quiet and an immediate increase in her overall standard of living!

[Guest]

I was amazes at how quickly she does her hair... Was the video sped up at all? Even if it was, I, surprised that it didn't take very long in general.

Chad may be a catch, but I think Erin is too. She's smart and well spoken. She seems well fitted for the fundie life, and her genuine goals (piano, etc.) mesh well with the lifestyle. She also doesn't seem super fertile and, though I'm sure it's painful now, it will be a good thing in the long run. I can see these two being truly happy keeping with the fundie lifestyle, probably one of the only second generation couples I can say that for.